2013.05.25
Question 6 ”Is broken English OK for business?” 英語学習法
ビジネス英語の学習法やポイントについて聞く Q&A 第6弾は、”Is broken English OK for business?” です。
「ビジネスでブロークンイングリッシュをつかってもいいか？」
ブロークンイングリッシュとは、たくさんの文法ミスが含まれる英語のことですね。
多くの人がブロークンイングリッシュはビジネスでは受け入れられない、と考えています。
教養が感じられず、プロフェッショナルに聞こえず、失礼な印象を与えると思われているからですね。
でも、これは正しくありません。
「なぜブロークンイングリッシュでも問題ないか？」
ビジネスにおいては、3つのポイントを押さえていることが大切です。
1つ目は、「あなたが言いたいこと（意味）が伝わっている」ことです。
“on” や “at” といった前置詞が正しく使われていることよりも、意味を理解してもらうことの方が重要なのですね。
2つ目が、「あなたの感情を相手が理解できる」ことです。
話すことで、意味だけでなく、感情や気持ちも相手に伝えられますよね。
3つ目が、「話す相手の反応」です。
伝えたことに対し、相手から適切な反応を得られることが大切なのです。
例をあげてみましょう。
仕事後に皆でパーティーに行くことになり、
“Hika, You had better come to this party.”
と、同僚をパーティーに誘ったとします。
でもこの言い方では、相手は「あなたはパーティーに行くべきだ」と命令されているような印象を受け、
非常に気を悪くし、きっとよい反応も得られないでしょう。
正しい文法を使っていても、よい結果にはならないのです。
ですが、仮にブロークンイングリッシュで
“Ahh Hika ahh if come to party, it is fun for you.”
と相手を誘った場合は、相手は意味を理解できるし、誘われたことを心地よく思うので、
きっと適切な反応をしてくれるはずです。
ブロークンイングリッシュをつかわないようにするよりも、
これら3つのポイントを押させておくことのほうが重要だということが理解できたでしょうか？
question and answer video series.
And today's question is a really interesting one.
It's "Is broken English OK for business?"
Interesting question. And I got this many times
from many students over the years.
And I want to share my answer with you. OK.
But first let's try to understand. What is broken English? OK.
Because many people think this
Broken English is unacceptable for business.
Because you sound uneducated;
you sound unprofessional; you sound rude.
OK. That's not necessarily true. OK.
Now, broken English is English with many grammatical mistakes.
Yes, there are many mistakes and
that's why it sounds broken.
And broken is, you know, there is very
broken English and not so broken English.
Yeah, but basically it's English with many grammatical mistakes.
But the key point in business is not...
I'm gonna tell you I... I think it's OK.
And because the key point in business is whether what you are saying,
the other person can understand the meaning of your sentence.
I think that is important, not whether you used in or on or at.
That's not the important thing.
It's better to use correct grammar, of course.
But the important thing is can they understand your meaning?
OK. And can they understand how you feel?
Because when we speak
it's not just the meaning,
it's also the feeling that's also communicated.
So can the other person understand the meaning of your sentence?
How you are feeling? And the reaction of
the other person. Is that the reaction you want?
So the other person is angry or he's insulted.
That's not good, right?
Or you know he does a different action.
That's not good.
So these 3 points are important and
if you could do it with broken English.
I think that's fine for business.
Now. OK
Because I'll give you an of example of perfect English.
Here's a perfect sentence. OK.
And someone says to me. You know,
we're having a party and everyone is going
drinking after work and they say:
Hika, Hika, you had better come to this party.
And I would be insulted.
I would say what?! You're telling me,
I have to go to this party?
Because had better is like you have to.
Yeah people say it's the same as should.
No, it's not the same as should.
It's much stronger it's much more direct.
So the meaning, I understand the meaning.
The meaning is a little bit off. His feeling is a little bit off.
I think he's telling me and saying
you have to come but he's not.
So that meaning and feeling have been misunderstood.
My reaction is" what no I don't wanna go.
Forget it. I'm not gonna go."
It's a bad reaction.
So even perfect English will not get you the best result.
Here's broken English now.
And if you say it the right way,
Ahh Hika ahh if come to party, it is fun for you.
OK, and I would be like "Oh really, OK, OK.
Yeah sure, sure Taro I'll, I'll go to the party."
Broken English, I understand the meaning. I understand the feeling
that he's saying. And my reaction is a good one.
So that's just one example, just one example
of how broken English is OK in business.
I hope I answered your question. OK and
I look forward to your next question. OK, thank you.
